Be Patient With Reggie (stat comparison)

I know that there is a growing frustration with Reggie's rushing. Yes, he won the heisman, and signed a $50 million contract, but all of that is in the past. Right now, what matters is his development as a Saint- and that development is only 8 games old.

Here are some stats that may calm you, if you are approaching a crisis with your belief in Reggie as a rusher.

Through 8 games, Reggie Bush has 207 yards rushing. If you project his season total of 414 yards, it compares with the first TWO season averages of both Tiki Barber and Brian Westbrook (similarly sized backs).

In Tiki Barber's first two seasons, he averaged 338.5 rushing yards per year, essentially playing a full season. In Brian Westbrook's first two seasons, he averaged 403 rushing yards per year.

Yes, Reggie's total will come with more rushes than Westbrook and Barber had in their first two years, but not many more. My point is that sometimes it takes a full season or even two full seasons for a talented back to emerge in the NFL.

In the meantime, while Reggie's rushing skills need work, he continues to pull linebackers and safeties away from the middle when he lines up as a receiver- b/c any def. coordinator knows that if he catches a ball in space- he's gone. So while we wait for his rushing skills to develop, we still have a player that contributes mightily to success of the offense. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Let's just be patient on his rushing- hopefully he will develop. He seems to have the desire and the work ethic to come around, and with proper coaching, it may be sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed.